Any examples of laser/ink jet decals you've made?

[BigEdsGarage]

OK, so I have read up on making my own decals. I should have no problem producing the artwork and scaling it down. Get good quality paper, top coat before submersing, it all seems pretty easy. Unfortunately I don't own an Alps printer and will need to use an ink or laser jet. I realize the ink jet decals are somewhat transparent so these will be used on a white car. Just wondering if anyone here has pics of models with decals they have made on them. I have read a lot of posts on several sites about what and how to do make the decals, but there weren't many showing the results.

Anyone have any pics of home made decals?

[Jared Roach]

here's a mini I did and i printed off the roof decal:

here's one pic of the finished thing:

And if ya wanna see more here is the topic:

http://www.modelcarsmag.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=32327&st=0&p=322490&hl=mini&fromsearch=1&#entry322490

[TimKustom]

Here’s the nutshell version of what I’ve done.

The printer I’ve used is this:

http://www.office.xerox.com/multifunction-printer/color-multifunction/docucolor-240-250/enus.html

Most "copy shops" should have something similar.

The paper I’ve used is this:

http://www.beldecal.com/laser_paper.html

For this model I used the white paper since I wanted white lettering. There is only 6 decals on the model (2 on top, 2 on hood, one on each side).

The printer did not like the white paper. It seems to be the clear paper “painted†white and it would jam in the fuser. Luckily, I got one sheet through. The 8.5x11†sheet had three sets, just in case I messed up.

On this model (built by Tommy May) I designed, then printed these decals on the clear sheet. Had no problems with these.

Decals will only be as good as the artwork. Both of these models artwork was created in Adobe Illustrator and is vector artwork. Most of the internet “art†is low resolution and will not provide “sharp†decals. I’d recommend using vector art whenever possible.

Hope this helps and good luck with your decal projects.

[Bernard Kron]

I make my own decals quite often. I use Adobe Photoshop so my graphics aren't vector graphics. My printer is a Canon Pixma 3000, an inkjet printer. Generally I print on clear decal stock (Experts Choice by Bare Metal Foil). Because I can't do vector graphics I make sure my art is at a minimum the highest resolution my printer will print. Generally I do my graphics 1:1 at 600 DPI. I have done occasional work on white stock but all the examples that follow are on clear so I make sure the background color is much lighter than the graphics. I have to say that Tim's black background on white stock in order to get the gray lace effect and white letters with red outline is terrific and it's an approach I'll definitely use on upcoming projects! Great looking graphics, Tim.

Here's an example of the graphic sheet for a '37 Chevy I built. I always print up multiple copies of each decal so I can afford to mess up - one of the advantages of making your own! The Chevrolet logo is from the internet and all the rest are simple font based elements.

Here are some recent examples, both fictitious early 60's drag cars. The nose logo on the Fiat was made by tracing an outline of the kit grill, then scanning the outline into the computer and making the outline stripe and text graphic at 1:1 in Photoshop. The rest is all simple font-based stuff. The trade decals are mainly from Slixx nostalgia drag sheets with some additional AMT stuff.

[coopdad]

Yes, awesome job Tim.

I too used white paper coated with Tamiya clear for my decals. Printed on a Canon Pixma inkjet (had terrible luck with our Dell laser printer) on the coated Photopaper settings. I used Illustrator to build the files.

before adding dirt (a better view of the decals... sorry for the oversized photo):

On thing I learned that made an effect was to double check that when making "black" art, make sure it is CMYK black, not RGB. I scanned the car number "302" and forgot to convert it to CMYK before bringing it into Illustrator. So it had a dot pattern because it was made up of many colors rather than only black ink. Not too noticeable as the registration of the printer is pretty good but it was a dumb mistake.

John

[Agent G]

All these were printed on clear paper with an inklet printer.

The simple lettering was done in Word and sized for the car, then printed in a color that was close. The multicolor oval was scanned and printed on white paper after being sized.

The pony 'stang stripes were laid out in Adobe paint.

I have also had good luck with using a business card program. The standard business card is about the size you need plus the program lets you stretch the letters like on the Crown Vic and Tahoe.

Edited July 9, 2010 by AgentG

[BigEdsGarage]

Thanks for the input and replies guys, I really appreciate it! I'm glad to see that the laser/ink jet decals CAN look good on models. Again, thanks for the pics of your work. This has sparked my enthusiasm to give decal making a try and get working on this project.

Tim, the lace effect on the Corvair is awesome!

I've been working on a resin 67 Plymouth Satellite wagon that I wanted to do as a 70's super stocker. The body will be white with some purple and blue faded edging on the body lines.

Here is what I have designed so far for decals using Photoshop. I have Illustrator but haven't learned it yet, so unfortunately no vector art yet. Hopefully the decals will print well on clear decal paper and not change color much over the white paint. I'd love to be able to print these on an Alps.

One other question......any preference for what to use to top coat the decals after printing them?

[Bernard Kron]

Ed:

Beautiful graphics! Your taking full advantage of what this approach can offer. I clear as normal over my decals, in my case either DupliColor clear or Krylon clear.

[TimKustom]

Ed,

Awesome artwork you made for your SS car. I see no problem with those looking great on a white paint job. I'd recommend printing them on your inkjet using the highest quality photo settings. I haven't ever printed decals on an inkjet so I can't really say what to use to seal them, but there are some suggestions above.

BTW, I've seen and had decals made (from vector art) on an ALPS printer and I've not been impressed. They always have some form of weird dot/cross hatch texture to them that I haven't seen an inkjet or laser printer produce.

Can't wait to see them on the model!

TK

[Darin Bastedo]

These are some strobe decals I printed on my okidata 5100n laser printer. I printed them for Marc Nellis who built this 'Cuda.